Red Rescue
by MissDonnie
Summary: Set in season 1 or 2: A simple ride back from a case in the field leads to an accident. It is a cold, rainy night for the two of them…a chance just to talk and keep warm together. I am re-posting this from some time ago, this time properly hooked together in chapters. Nope. Don't own anything but my ideas and earn no profits from The Mentalist.
1. Chapter 1

The sun is just rising over the landscape as Lisbon and Van Pelt leave a room at the little, no-name motel. The case they were here for in the small town had ended late. The team agreed to say overnight and get an early start in the morning.

Both turn when they hear another door open and close. Rigsby sees them and walks over.

"The diner's open. We can have breakfast before we leave." Rigsby says enthusiastically, happy he can eat before they start the long trip back. He smiles at Van Pelt noticing how good she looks so early in the morning.

Another door opens. Cho exits, quietly closing it behind himself. He comes over, and Lisbon is surprised at how tired he looks. Rigsby and Van Pelt walk on to the diner as Lisbon and Cho follow.

"You look tired, didn't you sleep well?" Lisbon says as Cho yawns.

"I should have bunked with Rigsby, his snoring I could have ignored," he says and yawns again.

Lisbon smiles and says, "I take it Jane was not a perfect roommate?"

"He had a nightmare and almost hit me when I tried to wake him. When he did wake up he paced the room the rest of the night."

"Are you okay?" She scrutinizes his face for bruises.

"Fine, just tired. He finally fell asleep in bed about a half hour ago. I didn't want to wake him for breakfast since he looks exhausted." Cho opens the door to the diner and they join the rest of the team at a table.

Later the four leave the diner, all of them carrying to-go cups of coffee. Once again Cho yawns.

Lisbon stops and turns to her three team members. "It's only seven and we have the rooms until noon. Rigsby, you and Van Pelt go ahead and check out of your rooms. I'll let Jane sleep a bit longer in the room he and Cho had. The three of you take one van and head back home. Rigsby, I want you to drive so Cho can sleep in the back seat. When you get to the CBI, turn in the van and go ahead home and get a start on an off weekend."

"Thanks, Boss. -I'll get my stuff and meet you at the van," Rigsby says heading back to his room.

"Want me to get your stuff together, Boss? I'll put your away bag in the van you're going to drive with Jane," Van Pelt offers.

"Thanks. Here's my key for when you check out of our room. Try and talk Rigsby out of stopping at every market on the way or you'll never get back early." Van Pelt smiles at that remark and heads back to their room.

Cho unlocks the door and enters the room he shared with Jane, followed by Lisbon. The drapes are closed and there is little light. He turns on the bathroom light to pack up his few belongings without waking Jane. Lisbon walks to the bed and eyes her consultant with a faint frown of worry. Jane lies asleep wearing blue pajamas, looking exhausted. She reaches to the end of the bed and pulls up the blanket to cover him. Jane looks at her blearily, then closes his eyes, turns on his side and sighs as he burrows deeper under the covers.

Lisbon follows Cho out and walks with him to where Rigsby and Van Pelt are standing by a van. Cho loads his bag, gets into the back seat, buckles up and closes his eyes.

"We're all checked out. The owner says you can stay until one if you need to. I told her Jane is a little under the weather," Van Pelts says.

"Okay, thank you everyone for your hard work the past few days." Lisbon looks up at the darkening sky, now almost covered by heavy gray clouds. "Get going. Hopefully you can beat the storm before it breaks."

"I checked the weather station. Storm shouldn't be bad till the afternoon and we should miss it," Rigsby comments as he settles into the driver's seat. Van Pelt slides into the passenger seat and waves as they pull away. Lisbon watches them pull safely onto the highway then returns to Jane's motel room.

A few hours later Lisbon closes her laptop and puts the computer and paperwork into a bag. She stands and stretches, then looks at her watch. Jane stirs in the bed, attracting her attention. He sits up and yawns. Jane blinks in surprise at seeing Lisbon standing nearby.

"How are you feeling?" she asks with a smile.

"Right as rain," he replies, returning the smile. "I guess I gave Cho a bad night. Next time maybe I should get a room for myself and let the rest of the team have a good night."

Lisbon laughs. "Or just room with Rigsby. Cho says nothing wakes Rigsby after he's asleep."

"Where are the others?" he asks, rising.

"I sent them home a few hours ago. I figured you could use the sleep. You get ready while I get you hot tea and something to eat from the diner." As Jane picks up his clothes from a chair, "Just tea, please. I'm really not hungry."

Lisbon's sharp glance stops him in his tracks. "Tea _and_ something to eat. You didn't eat last night and you need more than tea." He looks at her and shrugs. There's no talking her out of it when she has that look on her face.

"They say the best way to tell if a diner is good is how they make their eggs. So I'll have eggs." He gives her a million dollar smile. "Thank you for taking care of me, Lisbon," then adds as a pretend afterthought, "And the team too, I guess."

"That's why they pay me the big bucks. Be back in a few minutes." She grabs her purse and leaves the room.

A short time later they are on the road and rain is coming down in sheets. Sparing a moment's attention from driving, Lisbon looks over at Jane who is asleep again, his head propped against the window. The case had been hard for the team and even more so for Jane. Cases involving children were always difficult. Jane insisted on being included in the search party even though she thought it was a bad idea. Jane found the child. Dead. The girl's father was a police officer, lending a special horror to the case as the agents considered whether a fellow cop had done it. The girl's mother confessed to killing her daughter when Jane talked to her, a perversion of everything motherhood stood for. Jane was quiet during the rest of the investigation. Lisbon wishes Jane would allow himself the relief of talking, of sharing the burden, but knows getting him to open up was not going to happen no matter how hard she tries. She returns her attention to driving in the difficult weather.

A deer bounds across the wet road just ahead. Lisbon jams on the brakes. She corrects the steering but the van skids through water pooled on the road. No control! The van hurtles off the side, sliding, jouncing down the slope. It hits a boulder and rolls twice.

Suddenly, quiet. The van is stopped, right side up, lost in a world of rain and leaves and trees.


	2. Chapter 2

Jane opens his eyes slowly, wondering why it is so wet and cold. He closes his eyes again. His mind is trying to figure out where he is and why his side hurts. He opens his eyes again, looking out of what used to be the van's windshield. With a start he looks over to the driver's seat where Lisbon was, sees her. Her head is leaning against the steering wheel. He reaches over to check for a pulse, and exhales deeply in relief when he feels a pulse. He gently holds her head and pulls her back against the head rest. He takes out his phone only to be disappointed: No signal. He reaches over and takes Lisbon's phone and frowns when he again fails to get a signal.

Lisbon moans and opens her eyes, she suddenly sits up, alarmed as she remembers the car plunging down the hillside. She looks over to Jane and sees him looking at her with a small smile. "Are you okay?" she asks anxiously, examining what she can see of him carefully.

"Right as rain, no pun intended." Dismayed, he realizes rain is coming into the van through the shattered windshield, spattering on the dash and dripping on them. Jane starts to ask if she is all right when she shifts her leg and yells in pain.

"What is it Lisbon, where are you hurt?" Jane moves closer and looks for anything that can give him a clue to her injuries.

"My ankle…I'm not sure if it's broke or not." She puts her head back against the headrest and takes a deep breath. Jane gets out of the van and rushes over to the driver's side. He opens her door and kneels down to look at her ankle.

"Your ankle's starting to swell, I can't tell if it's broken and I don't want to move you, sweetheart," surprising her with the endearment. She looks down at the man who always seems to surprise her.

"We need to get out of this rain and someplace dry." They look around and see nothing that will help them, then look back at each other.

"Our phones!" she says, but then sees him shake his head no. She tries the van's horn, but it is quiet. "Maybe someone will see us as they drive by?" she says hopefully looking up the hillside towards the road.

"Don't think that's going to happen, Lisbon. The rain is coming down hard and it'll be dark soon. I think we're stuck here at least for the night." He stands and looks into the car, rushes to the back of the van and opens the hatch. He climbs in and pushes down the back seat so it lies flat. Looking around he sees a bag, opens it and finds a tarp, blankets and first aid kit.m He smiles when the nearby tool box yields a roll of duct tape.

"What are you doing, Jane?" Lisbon calls back to him.

"Becoming MacGyver." He yells back. Confused, she cranes her neck, trying to see what he is doing without jostling her injured leg.

He clambers into the van getting close to the front seats while holding onto the tarp. He squeezes her shoulder comfortingly. "I'll have us high and dry in no time…I hope." He tears off some of tape and opens the tarp. He lifts the edge of the tarp to the ceiling and begins taping it. He goes across from behind Lisbon to the passenger side, putting up the tarp. Success! He sits back and smiles when the rain doesn't make it into the back of the van. He backs up and spreads the emergency blankets and pushes up the back hatch. Blessedly, the rain drains off to the sides, keeping the van's floor dry. He rushes back to Lisbon.

"Okay, I need to get you to the back and out of the rain. I'll help you with your ankle while you turn around. Lean on me so you don't have to use your bad leg."

By this time she's chilled and damp from the incoming rain; Jane's dripping wet. He gently holds her bad leg and has her turn slowly. Her face crumples in pain as she manages to do as he asks. He's upset it's causing her a great deal of pain, but has no better idea. When she is turned around she stands on her good leg. Jane puts his arm around her waist and her arm around his shoulders. She awkwardly hops to the back of the van, one agonizing step at a time. He seats her on the sill of the hatch and grabs her bag that Grace had loaded seemingly ages ago. He opens it and takes out a long night shirt.

"You've got to get out of those wet clothes. I'll turn around till you get your night gown on. Let me know if you need help." He can't help but grin, "Now isn't the time to be shy, my dear." He turns around. She takes off her shirt and bra, and slips on the night shirt. She unzips her slacks, but can't pull them down. Every time she moves her leg her ankle flares with pain. She moans softly, knowing he can hear her and knowing what he'll say. "Jane, not a word! Just help me get these slacks off." Her face is blushing furiously.

Jane turns around and looks at the problem. "Lay back for me a bit." She does and he manages to gently pull the slacks down first off the bad leg and then completely off. He decides against commenting about the red panties he glimpses. Now was not the time seeing how embarrassed she already is.

"Okay, see if you can move back a little and get under the blankets. I'll get out of my clothes." She moves back slowly, each movement causing her ankle to hurt. She gets almost to the back seat and quickly gets under the blankets. A few minutes later the hatch slams shut and Jane crawls towards her wearing his blue pajamas. He sidles under the blankets joining her. Both are shivering from the cold and damp.

"Well if we are rescued tonight, it will look like we're having a small pajama party," Lisbon says with a small laugh. Jane moves closer till they almost touch.

"Just trying to share some body heat, Lisbon, at least until we're a little warmer." Without saying anything she moves closer. He tucks the blankets around them both.

"This is going to be a fun weekend," she says with a sigh. He is quiet for a few minutes then sits up and looks out the window at the hill they came down. "In the morning I'll climb the hill and hopefully flag down a car. We'll be fine for tonight."

"I'm sorry about the accident," Lisbon says quietly as Jane again settles down next to her.

"Accidents happen, my dear."

"Stupid deer." She says grumpily.

Jane looks at her. "A deer?"

She closes her eyes and sighs. "Yes, it dashed in front of the van. I guess I reacted wrong and now we're down here and the deer is somewhere dry."

Jane laughs at that. "You let dinner get away, Lisbon. How about some dinner?"

She looks at Jane as if he is a bit crazy. "I don't think we can get delivery here tonight," she snarks.

Jane gets out from under the covers and grabs his away bag. He takes out a candy bar and bottle of water and gets back under the covers. "Dinner is served," he says breaking the candy in two. He hands her one piece.

"Jane, I didn't know you were such a boy scout." He takes a drink of the water and passes her the bottle.

"Boy scouts are always prepared," he says with a laugh.

They finish their small meal. "Want to play a game, Lisbon?"

Lisbon is used to Jane always wanting to play a game on road trips. At least now it would help pass the time.

"Okay, what game?"

"Question and answer. I get to ask one and you have to answer, then you can ask me a question."

Just another way for Jane to learn more about her she thought. "Okay, Jane…"

"Yes, I'll go first…." He thinks for a couple of minutes. "What is your favorite color?"

"Blue." She says quickly. "Now I ask you a question, right?" Jane nods.

"What is your favorite cereal?

"Easy…Frosty Mini Wheaties, but not the ones with strawberry flavor."

"What is your favorite type of books…fiction?" He knew the answer to that since he saw the stack of romance novels on her nightstand.

"Well almost every time I like -you already know, right?" she frowns. He nods. "Okay, its romance books," she admits, her face growing red.

The rain is still coming down hard and it's getting very dark. They continue to play.

"I have one for you, Jane…You're going to have go back in your memory palace for this one. What movie from your childhood brings back a memory of who you were with?" Maybe she'll find out a little about his childhood. Jane is quiet for awhile, and his smile disappeared. Lisbon notices the change and reaches down and takes his hand.

"Jane, is something wrong? Did I ask a bad question?"

Jane takes a deep breath before he speaks. "I went with my mother to see Dumbo. I thought I was too old to go see that kind of movie. I was more into adventure type movies. I knew my mom must have been saving that movie so we could go together. She always bought ice cream on the way back. It was a really fun day. I really liked the movie…and Mom was so different away from my dad.. She smiled more and had a beautiful laugh. The next day was set-up day for the carnival. I got to ride with the owner into town to make sure everything was in order with permits and stuff. He always picked one of the kids to go with him. It was a treat for us. After he got things settled we would go to McDonald's. That was really special since most of our folks didn't have money to go out to eat. When I got back I went to our trailer to tell my mom. I saved one of those apple pies for her from my lunch. She wasn't there. I searched the whole carnival, asked everyone if they had seen her. They just shook their heads and went back to setting things up. I went back to the trailer. My father was there and he looked angry. I asked him where Mom was….He came over, grabbed my arm and pushed me into their bedroom. He opened the closet and all her clothes were gone. That's when he told me she left us. He said she had a boyfriend she met at the last stop.…He told me never to ask about her again."

Lisbon isn't sure what to say. It was awful when her mother died. But having his mother run off and leave must have been worse, must have left him believing she didn't love him. She's surprised when Jane starts talking again after a short break.

"When Angela and I had Charlotte we got a package in the mail, no return address. Inside was a pink baby blanket and some small toys. There was a card inside signed by my mother. When Angela and Charlotte were killed…" Jane pauses before he begins again. "There were some flowers delivered to the funeral home. The card just said 'Mom.'"

"She must have been able to follow where you were, I'm sorry she never contacted you." Lisbon says quietly. Jane doesn't answer, but just rolls on his side and is quiet. Later she wakes in the middle of the night. Jane is lying close but his body heat isn't enough to keep her warm.

Dim, watery light wakes her at daybreak. Waking slowly, Lisbon opens her eyes and groans to see it still raining. She hears rustling at the end of the make shift bed, looks and sees Jane. He is wearing his wet clothes from yesterday and is about to put on his shoes. Hearing Lisbon, Jane turns and gives her that smile he seems to reserve just for her.

"I have a great breakfast plan, my dear." He tosses her a granola bar and a bottle of water. "I found Rigsby's overnight bag. He must have forgotten to move it to the other van. Did you sleep alright?"

"Yes, thank you." She blushes remembering how closely they slept. "Did you eat anything?" Jane holds up an empty wrapper. "Now I know where to look when we're in the same van as Rigsby and get hungry."

Looking out the window concern floods her face as she turns back to Jane. Finished putting on the wet shoes he makes a face. He clearly hates to wear wet socks and shoes. "Maybe you should wait until it stops raining, Jane."

He turns to her. "I don't want you to stay here another night, Lisbon. Nobody can see the van from the road. The team has the weekend off so they won't be looking for us. I heard a truck earlier, so when I get to the top we can get help _now_. There should be other cars going by. We could be home in time for a hot lunch if I start now."

He smiles at her as he opens the hatch and gets out, closing the hatch after him. He goes over to her window and puts his hand on the window. She puts her hand up to his.

Jane moves away from the van and looks up the hill. It looks higher than he thought. Mud and water are coming down the hill. He walks closer to the hill and looks at his shoes, making a face as rain and muddy water make their way inside his shirt. "These shoes aren't going to survive this," he mutters gloomily. He walks to the slope and grabs a bush and pulls himself up a little bit. Every bush he grabs seems to cut his fingers and hands. After a half hour of serious climbing he hears a car go by and this inspires him to climb faster. I'm going to join a gym, he thinks. Every muscle in his arms is killing him and he feels every one of his forty years of age. He clutches the base of a larger bush, when his shoes loosen some rocks and he suddenly starts slipping down the hill. He grabs for anything he can reach, but there's nothing he can hold onto. He slides down the hillside, gathering speed as he falls, and finally comes to a stop lying on his back. He closes his eyes and tries to calm his breathing while he tightly holds his side.

Inside the car Lisbon sees Jane careen back down the hill. She holds her breath when he lies still at the bottom. What if he's hurt, could she even reach him to help? She's limp with relief when Jane slowly gets up. He turns and waves at her. He looks down to see himself covered with mud, head to toe. He waves again and she waves back and smiles. All she could see of his mud covered face were the white teeth showing with his smile.

Once again Jane turns to face the hill. He takes a long look then chooses what he hopes is a better way up. He grabs another bush and starts pulling himself up. Taking a deep breath, he wishes his ribs didn't mark every breath with stabbing pain. He is about half way up the hill and takes a short break. "If only this damn rain would stop I get up faster," he mutters, breathless. A grin breaks over his face as the rain surprisingly slows and then stops. He snorts, knowing what Grace would have would have said - "Miracles still happen."

After what seems a lifetime he finally reaches the top and crawls up onto the road. He wearily stands and looks around. He turns and waves to Lisbon, then starts walking down the road. He looks down at his suit and laughs. He looks like a character from a scary movie. A noise from behind announces traffic. He turns around to the welcome sight of a delivery truck, and runs to the middle of the road waving his hands. The truck comes to a quick stop, sliding a bit on the wet pavement. The driver hops out and rushes to Jane.

"You okay, mister?" The driver asks, looking at the mess Jane is.

"We were in an accident last night. My friend's still down there and she's hurt. Can you call for help? My phone isn't working," he says in a rush. Jane takes a few steps toward the side and points toward the van.

"No problem. I'll get on my radio and we'll have help out here fast." The driver runs back and gets into his truck. Jane waves, giving Lisbon the okay sign.

A short time later police, fire trucks and an ambulance arrive lining the shoulder nearest the van. Jane watches as the firemen make it down the hill with a stretcher for Lisbon. He ignores the police officer trying to get him to the ambulance to be checked out. There is no way he'll leave until Lisbon is brought up the hill. He watches as they lift her onto the stretcher, cover her and strap her securely on. What had taken him forever took the firemen only a few minutes to reach the top of the slope. He approaches Lisbon lying on the stretcher and takes her hand as the firemen carry her to the ambulance. He leans down and kisses her on the forehead, straightening slowly. "How are you feeling?"

"I am so happy to be up here now, thank you, Patrick." He looks surprised at her use of his given name. He reluctantly moves aside so they can load the stretcher into the ambulance. Finally, he stumbles over to the second ambulance and cooperates with the paramedics' examination.

It had been a long day, and Lisbon is glad to finally be in a warm, comfortable bed, even if it is in a hospital. The doctor who treated her in emergency gave her the good news that her the ankle wasn't broken, just badly sprained.

She hears a familiar voice talking loudly in the hallway. A nurse enters her room pushing a wheelchair occupied by a very tired looking Jane.

"I could have walked! I'm only three doors down." He twists around to frown at the nurse.

"Mr. Jane, the doctor said you should take it easy for the rest of the day. With the medication you got for your broken ribs, you shouldn't be walking _anywhere,_ " she responded, completely unfazed. She wheels him next to Lisbon's bed and leaves.

"Well, I guess I know how you are…getting the nurses upset and disobeying doctor's orders." She shakes her head at Jane.

"Meh. Obedience is highly overrated, Lisbon. Besides, I can walk. No bum ankle like you have, my dear." He asks more softly, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. I'll be off that foot for a week or so...You have some broken ribs?" she asks, worry surfacing only for his injury.

"They taped me up like a mummy. Then they gave me a small pill that seems to be working," he answers through a yawn. "Guess I should go back to my room. I'll rest easier now that I've seen you."

"Jane, maybe you should stay with me tonight? I'd rather you not go to your room if you're not gonna sleep." He looks at her in surprise and she points to the other bed in her room.

"Sure, but I'm certain to sleep if that pill continues to work like it is now." He slowly rises from the wheelchair and heads for the bed. He turns the covers down and gingerly climbs in. He gives a sigh and closes his eyes, asleep in no time.

The room becomes quiet. Lisbon looks at Jane and smiles. She wonders how many times he had to wash his hair to get those blonde curls free of mud. She watches him sleep and realizes the man is getting closer to her heart every day. She isn't sure where it will lead, but tonight Patrick Jane is her hero.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Chapter 2 was posted mid-week two weeks ago. You should read that before reading this chapter. Thanks.**

* * *

After a few days at home, Lisbon is eager to return to work even though her ankle is still a little tender after the accident. The three days she stayed home Jane stopped by every night, bringing her dinner from all the fast food places she likes. He waved off her concerns about his broken ribs, and the only sign of his injuries was a certain exaggerated care in how he moved, how deeply he breathed. A couple of nights he stayed to watch a movie with her. Those are the times she will remember fondly. When Jane was lying on the couch watching a movie he seemed like a different person. She enjoyed the lighter, more carefree Jane when he laughed at something in the movie they were watching.

Walking into the office she sees everyone busy doing their own thing while waiting for a case. Rigsby is, no surprise, checking out the vending machines recently installed in the break room. Cho is reading, probably the latest bestseller or maybe a classic from eons ago. Van Pelt is talking to a young man from the mailroom. Lisbon knows that from Van Pelt's side it is just being friendly, but the way the young man looks at her with puppy dog eyes…

Jane is where he always is, on his couch. She can tell that this time he really is sleeping as most of the office was quiet. Everyone likes Jane _during_ nap time when they are free of unexpected pranks or too-insightful comments. But he is also easier to take when awake if he's had some rest.

She enters her office and is greeted by a couple of welcome back balloons tied to her chair. Lying on her desk is a bag with the Marie's Bakery logo. From the smell it has to be an apple fritter and it is still warm. She looks out at the office at Jane, and he languidly raises his hand and waves at her. How he knows she would be looking at him … Jane being Jane.

A couple of nights later Jane and Rigsby are out getting closed case pizza. Cho is gathering plates, glasses and napkins to put on the conference table. They are just sitting down when Van Pelt joins them.

"Sure hope Jane doesn't get pineapple pizza," Cho says, making a face. "Picking it off doesn't help if the juice is all over it.

"I asked him to get the Meat Eater that you and Rigsby like," Van Pelt responded with a smile.

"What did it cost you?" Cho says looking at her.

She doesn't answer for a while, and then with a sigh says, "I have to make him peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches for his lunch for the next two days."

"You're not going to do that are you?" Lisbon says, surprised.

"It's not a big deal. I've been making them for Jane a couple of times a week. That way I know he eats something at lunch. I noticed that he hasn't been going out much and that's his favorite sandwich." Van Pelt blushes as she says that. "Jane thinks I don't notice the things he does for people around here. Like Beth in accounting, she was having problems with the air conditioning in her small office. Jane dropped in to say hi. When he asked if she liked being so warm she told him the air conditioning just didn't seem to reach her office. The next day there was a large fan when she came in to work. Jane usually ducks out after he does something nice so they can't thank him for it."

Van Pelt gave another example. "Jack from HR and his wife just had twins. Last week Jack was moaning about how much it was going to cost getting doubles of everything. The next day a double stroller was delivered to his office. No card attached, but everyone knew it was Jane."

The three of them are silent for a moment then Lisbon decides to share her decision. "I need your help in doing something nice for Jane. This has to be kept quiet. He's not to know about it in case we don't succeed." She swallows and takes the plunge. "I want to find his mother for him." She explains a little of what Jane had told her.

"I'll start a search on her tomorrow, "Cho offers. "What's the last place she was known to be at?" Cho asks taking a notebook and pen from his pocket.

Having mulled the idea since the accident, Lisbon is relieved to share her plan and recruit the team to help. The search was beginning and it wouldn't stop with Lisbon's department. Favors would be called in from others with access to information she and her team couldn't get. Now she only hopes the surprise will be as happy as she thinks it will be if they manage to find Mrs. Dana Jane.

It had been three weeks since the CBI office had been searching for Mrs. Jane. It was slow going since the only thing they knew was her name and a birth date without the year. In talking with Jane the night of the accident he had mentioned that they were in Lake Charles, Louisiana when she had left.

Cho comes into Lisbon's office late in the afternoon after they had worked a hard case for three days. The whole team is tired, but they caught the woman who had murdered a judge, her husband, with a hit man for hire. Cho closes the blinds quickly and locks Lisbon's office door.

"Jane is out doing whatever he does with his time during the day. Want to make sure he doesn't come in while we talk." Cho sits down in one of her chairs, his arms crossed. Lisbon looks at him and suddenly yells, "We found her?" then remembers to whisper.

"Who found her?" Ten people plus Cho and Rigsby were searching for Mrs. Jane.

"Barbara in HR. She looked up hospital records for the Lake Charles area with the date that Jane saw her last. We know it's correct. Ben, who's a huge Disney fan, went on line and found out Dumbo opened that year, and found out when it was showing in Lake Charles. Her name is now Dana Crawford. You won't believe this, but she lives in Laguna Hills and her husband is a retired cop."

"We were there three years ago on a case." She sounds surprised, "We were so close."

Cho puts a file on her desk. "All the information is there. Now what?"

"I'll call her husband first, see if I can get a sense of how his wife might feel about Jane. If that goes well, think I'll take a trip. I want to see them before I tell Jane. Just in case."

They hear someone knocking on the door, a very familiar voice saying, "Lisbon … Lisbon … Lisbon."

She rolls her eyes. "I'm sorry I ever got him to watch The Big Bang on TV. Now he repeats my name three times." She unlocks the door and opens it to a smiling Jane. "Yes, Jane?"

Jane catches sight of Cho. "Wow, Cho's getting the Jane treatment. What have you done, Cho?" Jane enters the office, squeezing past Lisbon at the door. He sits at her desk, earning a frown from Lisbon.

"Cho, thank you for giving Martin's team a hand," She says, relieved to come up with a plausible reason for Cho to be in her office. Cho nods and leaves. Her glare is enough to get Jane out of her chair as she opens the blinds.

"Cho was helping Martin with a white collar case?" Jane says, puzzled, as he migrates to her couch and lies down.

"Martin needed help and we weren't busy. Cho offered to help. A search for the missing president of a company that was going under. Pillar of society that he was, he took all the retirement money with him."

Jane yawns, "Boring. Too much information."

She returns to her desk and takes a deep breath as she puts the file in her desk. If she aroused the slightest suspicion in her consultant, Jane would have a field day trying to find out what that file was for. She makes a mental note to take it home with her for safe keeping.

Four days later Jane comes into her office and watches as she puts several files in her briefcase. "Why can't I come along and keep you company? I could use a couple of days at the beach."

She looks at him. "What, Patrick Jane going to a beach and wearing swimming trunks? The world would stop spinning! -Silly me. Of course that wouldn't happen. You'd wear your three piece suit surfing."

"It could happen," he suggests tantalizingly. "Why again are you going to Laguna Beach?"

"Already told you. It's about a case I worked on before you showed up here. It seems the case is going back to trial with new evidence and I need to be there." She picks up her brief case and purse and walks out of her office followed by Jane.

"Not fair that you get to go and we have to stay here, slaving away," he says with a pout.

"Are you kidding? You sleep more than you work here. You do know there's paperwork you could do, files to be pulled, whatever."

Jane holds up his hands in surrender at the mere suggestion of paperwork. "Have a great trip, Lisbon. I'll make sure everyone is busy." She smiles as she leaves the office.

A taxi pulls up to a house about a block from the beach. Lisbon pays the driver and heads for the house. There is a sign above the door that says Crawford Beach House. She is about to ring the doorbell when a man opens the door and smiles.

"Agent Lisbon, please come in." She is pleased to see the house is charming and homey as he leads her to the living room. A woman is sitting in a wheelchair facing the fireplace that is warming the house. She turns the chair and smiles at Lisbon.

"Agent Lisbon, I'm so happy to see you. Please sit by me." She pats the couch next to her and Lisbon seats herself.

"Thank you both for talking with me."

"You work with Patrick?" Dana looks delighted to see Lisbon.

"Yes, he's a consultant for the CBI. He's been with us for almost six years and has helped solve quite a few cases."

Randy joins them in a nearby side chair. He takes his wife's hand. "We lost track of Patrick after…when his wife and child were killed." Dana and Randy exchange glances.

"My son probably still believes I ran away with another man, like Alex told him. I should never have married him, but I was going to have his baby so we got married. Patrick was the best baby, always so cheerful, but there were a lot of problems with Alex. He took people's money by cheating them in different cons. I wasn't proud of what he did but I couldn't leave. He never gave me money and the people in our group wouldn't help me. Almost everyone was afraid of him." She looks nervous as she stops.

"Dana, I'll get us tea while you continue with Agent Lisbon." He rises and leaves the room after giving her an encouraging kiss.

"Would you like to stop, Mrs. Crawford?" Lisbon asks quietly.

"No…I've never forgotten what happened, that I lost my son. Patrick was so smart, he taught himself to read before he was three. His mind was like a sponge. I wanted to stay in one place so Patrick could go to school, but Alex wouldn't hear of it. He was training Patrick to help with his act. He was hard on Patrick, never a good word unless his son jumped through his hoops, knuckled under. Even at a young age Patrick knew what his father did was wrong. One day I took Patrick to town to see a movie."

"Dumbo," Lisbon says. Dana looks at her in surprise. "Patrick told me how much he enjoyed that day with you. He never really spoke about his past, except for that."

"That day was the last time I saw him. Alex and I had a terrible fight and he hit me. I was standing in the doorway of our trailer and I fell backwards onto some machinery. Nobody saw what happened. Alex dragged me into the car, drove to town, and left me lying outside the hospital emergency room. I was in a lot of pain and could barely understand what he was saying. He said if I told anyone what happened he would kill Patrick." She swallows with difficulty. "I believed him," she whispered, tears in her eyes. Lisbon gets up and hands her a tissue box from a side table.

"I'm sorry I'm bringing up such pain for you," Lisbon says softly, squatting next to her wheelchair to be able to look the woman in the eye.

Randy returns carrying a tray laden with cups. He brings Dana a cup. "I fixed your favorite tea. Let's take a rest, dear." She accepts the cup with a grateful smile.

"I met my husband at the hospital. The police were called when the hospital staff found me outside. Randy was one of the officers. I had a spinal injury that was complicated by Alex pulling me into the car and I never walked again. I wouldn't talk to the police because I was afraid of what Alex would do to Patrick." Disgust and sorrow are plain on her face, "As awful as it sounds, I was sure Patrick wouldn't be hurt so long as Alex could use him in the act." Bitterly, "Alex was good at using people."

Randy interrupts, giving his wife relief from her grueling story. "I married Dana a year later. It took three years before she told me what happened to her and her son. We mailed letters to the towns they would be stopping at hoping that Patrick would receive them."

Lisbon reseats herself and leans back against the couch. "I've talked with Patrick's carny friends, Sam and Pete. They said letters came for Patrick, but Alex destroyed them."

"I was an officer with the police here for over twenty years. I knew we wouldn't be able to get Patrick away from his father, but I was able to get information on where he was and what he was doing. We found out he married Angela and that he had a TV show. When we found out they had a daughter Dana wanted to send the baby a gift. We sent it without saying who it was from." Randy says. Glancing at his wife, he continues, "We talked about getting in contact, but never could decide what to do. Dana was terrified Patrick would hate her, or think she was contacting him only because he'd become famous. We didn't know if Alex was still in the picture somehow."

Dana adds, "It hurt to know what Patrick was doing, but it was all his father's doing. His father taught him to be a conman. With me gone I know Alex would never let Patrick go to school. I guess Patrick did the only job he knew how to do, getting them to pay him to speak to their loved ones. We watched the night he was on the Murphy talk show. The next day we heard what happened to his family." Dana starts crying again. "I never got to see my granddaughter."

Randy hugs her and picks up the narrative. "We sent flowers, this time including our names, hoping Patrick would contact us. But after a bit we couldn't even trace where he was. It's like he fell off the face of the earth."

Lisbon closes her eyes, making a decision she prays is the right one. She has to tell them what happened, even knowing she is breaking a trust with Patrick. "After the funeral the neighbors got concerned. Patrick's car was there, but the house was dark and he wouldn't answer the door. They called the police and when they arrived they found Patrick had cut his wrists and taken a lot of sleeping pills." Dana gasps, fresh tears streaking down her cheeks. Randy frowns and hugs his wife in support.

Lisbon continues after a pause while they regain their composure. "He was hospitalized for six months for a complete breakdown. When he was released he came to my office at the CBI to learn of our progress in tracking down Red John. He's been with us since. Your son has helped many people with his brilliant mind. He's helped solve murder cases, kidnappings, everything."

"How can I thank you for letting us know about Patrick?" Dana asks, shaky after reliving the worst time of her life and learning the grim aftermath of her son's tragedy.

Lisbon opens her purse and takes out her phone. "I have some photos of him I'm sure you'd like to see." She pulls the pictures up and hands the phone to Dana.

Two weeks later Jane and Lisbon are in a car driving along the coast highway. She sees the sign for Laguna Hills and leaves the freeway.

"Tell me again why you wanted me to come when you'll be court the whole day?" a bored Jane asks.

"You _wanted_ to come the last time I was here!" she counters. "Make up your mind."

"That's because I thought we would have time to do stuff…restaurants, walks on the beach."

Lisbon turns and looks at him, and is relieved that he's smiling despite the whining.

She turns into the Laguna Beach parking lot and finds a spot. "Okay, let's go for that walk Jane." He looks at her eyebrows raised.

Lisbon gets out of the car with Jane following as she approaches Randy. "Mr. Crawford, it's nice to see you again." They shake. Jane looks first at Randy and then back at Lisbon in confusion.

"She's waiting down there." Randy points to a woman in a wheelchair by a bench. She is facing the ocean.

"Jane, you go talk to Mr. Crawford's wife. I've been working on a case involving her and you might be able to help with some questions. I'll stay here with Mr. Crawford."

Jane looks at her and frowns. There is no case file, he has no background: What? Lisbon only motions him toward the woman. Jane shrugs and ambles toward the woman. Randy and Lisbon watch, tense from not knowing how it will go.

Patrick reaches the wheelchair and walks around to the front. He stands there a moment then suddenly drops to his knees and hugs the woman. Dana returns the embrace and runs a hand through her son's hair in a gentle caress. "Found you at last."

The End


End file.
